Mexican pasta salad

1 1/2 lbs pasta, cooked  

1 1/2 tbs olive oil 

 Cook pasta al dente, drain, toss with olive oil. Let the pasta cool while you prepare the rest of the components. 

 Add the following ingredients to the cooled pasta: 

4 lg tomatoes, chopped 

3 cups corn kernels, fresh or frozen and thawed. 

1 or 2 cans beans, drained and rinsed (black, pinto, red, or a combination) 

1/2 medium red onion or 1 bunch green onion, chopped

1 medium bell pepper, chopped. (Any color) 

2cups grated cheddar cheese (can use pepper jack for part of the cheese) 

1 can sliced black olives 

Grated carrots (opt) 

Sliced jalapeños or Serrano peppers (minced. You can either add to the salad or incorporate into the dressing.)  

Once the salad is complete toss with the dressing below. Stir to coat well. 

 Dressing: 

1/2 cup mayonnaise 

1/2 cup sour cream 

1/4 cup red salsa 

Juice and zest of 1 lime 

1 tsp chili powder 

1/2 tsp cumin 

Salt and pepper to taste 

Tabasco to taste 

Optional: 1/4 packet of ranch dressing (I have never used this, but someone told me it would be good)  

Garnish salad with the following: 

 1 large avocado

diced Chopped cilantro (half a bunch or so) 

Serve as a side, but if you add cooked chicken or another meat this is a great main dish. Will keep in the fridge for several days though it will tend to get a little dry as the pasta continues to absorb moisture. If needed, toss with a little more olive oil or leftover dressing if it gets dry.

Olive Garden Chicken Vino Bianco

1/2 pound dried linguine
3/4 cup all-purpose flour, divided
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper, divided
1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
4 (4 ounce) boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 medium yellow onion, grated
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 cup white wine, (I used Chardonnay)
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 scallions, chopped (divided)
2 Roma tomatoes, diced (divided)
1/2 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add linguine. Cook until al dente (tender but still with a bite to it), about 8-10 minutes. Reserve 1 cup pasta water. Drain pasta, set aside.

Meanwhile: in a pie plate or shallow dish, combine 1/2 cup flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Stir with a fork to blend. Place the chicken breasts in the flour mixture, one at a time. Press the chicken into the mixture with tongs and flip the chicken over to coat the other side. Shake off the excess.

Add oil to a large skillet over medium-high heat. Place all 4 chicken breasts in the skillet and cook until golden brown on both sides and cooked through, turning once between cooking, about 8-10 minutes. Remove chicken from pan and set aside.

Add butter, onion and garlic to the pan. Cook until onions are translucent, about 2 minutes. Add 1/4 cup remaining flour to pan and whisk to combine. Add cream, lemon juice, wine, red pepper flakes, salt, pepper and Parmesan cheese. Whisk until mixture is smooth. Add up to 1 cup of pasta water to help create the sauce.

Add cooked pasta, half of scallions and half of tomatoes, stir to combine. Return chicken to skillet and allow it to warm. Sprinkle remaining scallions and tomatoes on top of skillet.

Mandarin Pasta Spinach Salad with Teriyaki Dressing

This salad is easy, quick, healthy, and tossed in the most addictive teriyaki vinaigrette dressing!

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 8 ounces bowtie pasta noodles
• 4 cups spinach leaves
• ½ cup craisins
• ⅓ cup cashews or pine nuts (such as Diamond of California)
• 1 4-ounce can mandarin oranges, drained
• ¼ cup cilantro leaves, roughly chopped

dressing

• ⅓ cup teriyaki sauce (the thicker, the better!)
• ⅓ cup rice wine vinegar (may sub apple cider vinegar)
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon onion powder (if you have it)
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• ½ cup oil (such as vegetable oil, canola oil, olive oil)

Instructions

1. Cook pasta according to package instructions, drain and rinse with cold water. Set aside.
2. While pasta is boiling, prepare the dressing. In a jar combine all dressing ingredients. Cover and shake to combine. Chill until ready to use.
3. In a large bowl toss together pasta, spinach, raisins, nuts, mandarin oranges, and cilantro. Just before serving pour dressing over salad, toss, and serve.

creamy mac and cheese

Ummm.... yes please :-)

2 tablespoons butter
1 cup cottage cheese (not lowfat)
2 cups milk (not skim)
1 teaspoon dry mustard
Pinch cayenne
Pinch freshly grated nutmeg
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 pound sharp or extra-sharp cheddar cheese, grated
½ pound elbow pasta, uncooked.

Heat oven to 375 degrees and position an oven rack in upper third of oven. Use 1 tablespoon butter to butter a 9-inch round or square baking pan.
In a blender, purée cottage cheese, milk, mustard, cayenne, nutmeg and salt and pepper together. Reserve ¼ cup grated cheese for topping. In a large bowl, combine remaining grated cheese, milk mixture and uncooked pasta. Pour into prepared pan, cover tightly with foil and bake 30 minutes.
Uncover pan, stir gently, sprinkle with reserved cheese and dot with remaining tablespoon butter. Bake, uncovered, 30 minutes more, until browned. Let cool at least 15 minutes before serving.

No-boil Macaroni and Cheese

2 cups macaroni, uncooked
4 cups whole milk
1/2 cube butter, melted
1 tsp. salt
8 oz. Velveeta cheese, cubed or shredded
4 cups shredded cheese
1 tsp. dry mustard powder or 3 tbs. prepared mustard

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a large baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.  Into dish, combine milk with melted butter, add salt and mustard. Pour in uncooked macaroni and Velveeta. Add half of shredded cheese and stir. Cover with lid (or aluminium foil if your baking dish doesn't have a lid.) Bake for about 50-60 minutes until macaroni is cooked and most of the liquid has been absorbed.

Remove from oven, remove cover, and top with remaining cheese.  Return to oven uncovered for another 10-15 minutes until cheese is melted, bubbly and golden.

Panera’s Stove Top Macaroni and Cheese

16 oz shell pasta or other small pasta shapes

4 tbsp butter (1/2 stick)

¼ to 1/3 cup flour

2 1/2 cups milk, cream, or half-and-half

4 oz American cheese, chopped or torn into pieces

8 oz extra sharp Vermont cheddar, shredded

2 tsp – 1 tbsp Dijon mustard (adjust according to your tastes)

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp hot sauce (like Frank’s)

In a large stockpot, cook pasta according to package directions.  Drain well.

While the pasta cooks, melt the butter in a 4-quart sauce pan over medium heat.  When the butter has melted and has started to bubble, whisk in the flour; cook for 1 1/2 minutes whisking constantly.  (If you use the lesser amount of flour, you’ll need to cook it a little longer, but it’ll taste less “floury.”  Sauce will be a little thinner, but will be just a cheesy.)  Gradually whisk in the milk/cream until no lumps remain.  Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook milk mixture, whisking frequently, until it thickens and bubbles, about 8 minutes. Remove sauce pan from the heat and by the handful, stir in the cheeses allowing all of the cheese to melt into the sauce before adding more.  Stir in the mustard, salt, and hot sauce.  Return the sauce pan to the heat and stir in the pasta.  Be sure to stir up the sauce from the bottom of the sauce pan and thoroughly coat all of the pasta with sauce.  Cook for 1-2 minutes over medium-low heat until heated through.  Serve hot in bowls with spoons.   (You can use white american cheese and white cheddar cheese to make white macaroni and cheese.)

Lemon Spaghetti

Salt

1 pound spaghetti

3 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

2 lemons, zested and juiced

1/2 to 3/4 cup heavy cream

1 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano

Handful flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped (optional)

1/2 cup (10 or 12 leaves) fresh basil, very thinly sliced

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt the water and drop the spaghetti into the pot.  Heat a large deep skillet over low heat. Add extra-virgin olive oil and garlic and crushed red pepper flakes.  When the pasta has been cooking about 5 minutes, add lemon juice, a ladle of the cooking water from the pasta and 1 cup of cream to the garlic and oil. Raise heat a bit to bring sauce to a bubble.  Drain pasta when it still has a good bite to it, al dente. Add lemon zest and half of the cheese to the cream sauce. Season the sauce with salt, to taste. Add pasta to pan and turn off heat. Toss the pasta with sauce, parsley, and ¾ of the basil for a minute or 2, allowing it time to soak up the sauce.  Top the plates of pasta or platter with remaining cheese and basil.

Sliced grilled chicken or grilled shrimp can be added to this to make it a main dish.

Tortellini or Gnocchi in Fontina Sauce

1 pound refrigerated gnocchi or tortellini

6 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 tablespoons chopped shallots

8 ounces fontina cheese, cubed

1/3 cup heavy cream

3 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the gnocchi or tortellini, and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Drain, and set aside.

Once the gnocchi or tortellini goes into the pot, start the sauce, as you want the gnocchi or tortellini to be done first. Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the shallots, and cook for a few minutes, until tender. Stir in the cream, and heat to almost a boil. Gradually mix in the fontina and parmesan cheeses, being careful not to boil. Stir until smooth, then remove from the heat immediately, or the sauce may clump.

Place gnocchi or tortellini into serving dishes, and spoon the sauce over them. Garnish with chopped fresh basil.

Mexican Pasta Salad

• 2  lbs. pasta (I like the rainbow spirals for this salad)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 large tomatoes, seeded, diced (4 cups)
• 2 cups corn kernels (fresh or frozen, thawed)
• 2-3 cups canned black, kidney, or pinto beans, drained (I use a mixture)
• 1 cup coarsely grated carrots
• ½ medium red onion, chopped or 1 bunch green onions, sliced thin
• 1 medium bell pepper, any color, diced
• 1 can sliced black olives
• 1 cup sliced banana peppers
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cups coarsely grated cheddar cheese (you can use more, or use a combination of other kinds of cheese)
• 2 seeded jalapeno or Serrano chilies or 1 cup pickled jalapeno slices, minced
• 1 avocado, peeled seeded and diced (optional, these will go brown in the leftover salad)
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro for garnish

Cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite. Drain, add olive oil and mix thoroughly to coat.  Let cool.  Add all other ingredients.  Toss. 

Dressing:

• 1/3 to ½ cup each mayonnaise and sour cream
• 2 – 4 tablespoons salsa
• Juice and zest of one fresh lime
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• Fresh ground pepper and salt to taste
• 1/4 packet of ranch dressing packet (optional)
• Tabasco to taste

Dressing:  Mix mayonnaise, sour cream, salsa, and lime juice and zest in small bowl. Mix in chili powder and ground cumin. Add dressing to salad and mix to blend. Gently stir in avocado, season to taste with salt and pepper.  Pour over pasta salad mixture and mix well.   Add more olive oil if salad seems overly dry, especially the next day if you are serving leftover salad.  


This makes a very large salad, suitable for a potluck.

3 Cheese Macaroni and Cheese with Country Smoked Bacon

8 oz. package small pasta shells

Salt and ground black pepper to taste

1 pinch garlic salt

3 tsp. butter 

1-1/2 cans (11 oz.) condensed cream of cheddar cheese soup

1/3 cup shredded havarti cheese

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

3/4 cups shredded white cheddar cheese (reserve a 1/4 cup cheese to top casserole)

4 strips thick-sliced country smoked bacon (or regular bacon), cut into 1/2-inch pieces

Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Bring a large pot of lightly-salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta until al dente, 8 to 10 minutes, then drain. Transfer the pasta to a casserole dish. Season with salt, pepper, and garlic salt. Stir the butter into the pasta mixture until the butter melts. Add the cheddar cheese soup, havarti cheese, parmesan cheese, and 1/2 cup of white cheddar cheese; stir well. Bake for about 25 minutes. While the mac and cheese is baking, fry the bacon in a skillet over medium-high heat until crisp, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate. Top casserole with crumbled bacon and reserved cheddar cheese. Place under broiler for about 10 seconds until the cheese melts. Serve hot.